Theuns Kruger and Frans du Toit, the two men from Gqeberha who kidnapped, raped, and viciously assaulted Alison Botha in 1994, before leaving her for dead were released on parole on Tuesday.
According to correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo “the department of correctional services (DCS) is able to confirm that both du Toit and Kruger have been placed on parole, effectively from July 4 2023.”
On December 18 1994, at about 3am, Botha had just arrived home after dropping off friends who had had dinner at her apartment. Du Toit entered her vehicle, put a knife to her throat and ordered her to drive. They stopped on their way to pick up his accomplice, Kruger.
The two men took Botha to an isolated spot on the outskirts of the city where they raped and viciously assaulted her.
They slashed her throat so deeply she had to hold her own head on as she crawled to the road for help. With her other hand she had to hold in the organs spilling from her stomach, where she had been stabbed more than 30 times.
Botha, who was left for dead, survived and lived to tell the tale of horror. The two men were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1995.
Judge Chris Jansen had back in 1995 said he was giving them life without the possibility of parole because: “I needed to make it clear they were a threat to society and should never be released”.
They review parole profiles, including recommendations from the CMC and CSPB, for submission to the minister of justice and correctional services. Upon receipt, the minister exercises due consideration.
— Correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo
That, however, changed when the department of justice announced in October 2004 that all prisoners sentenced before then had become eligible for parole.
Nxumalo on Tuesday told TimesLIVE Premium they were now free.
Nxumalo said a vigorous process had been undertaken before the decision was made. This included their profiles being handed to the national council for correctional services (NCCS), chaired by a judge of the high court and comprising of other professionals, such as magistrates, attorneys, clinical psychologists, social workers, medical doctors, professors and members of the public.
“They review parole profiles, including recommendations from the CMC and CSPB, for submission to the minister of justice and correctional services. Upon receipt, the minister exercises due consideration.”
According to Nxumalo, Du Toit and Kruger’s release “is not just about an inmate completing programmes or having served the minimum required time”.
“Various structures study all the material and assessment reports. Placing a lifer back into the community has to satisfy all the structures in the parole consideration process in terms of rehabilitation and the risk involved. The minister is ultimately the decisionmaker, as empowered by Section 78 of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998.
“Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger have been admitted into the system of community corrections, whereby they are expected to comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision for the rest of their natural life, Nxumalo said.
When TimesLIVE interviewed Botha back in 2016, she expressed that the possibility of her attackers being released has been hardest on her family.
“Before that I always brushed over the baddies by saying the police caught them and they went to jail for life and we’ll never see them again. But I want to bring my sons up with the values that have become most important to me — the knowledge that we can’t control what happens but we can choose how we react to it,” she said at the time.
TimesLIVE Premium reached out to Botha on Tuesday. According to her spokesperson, who asked not to be identified, Botha did not want to comment on the two men’s release on parole.
TimesLIVE
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